French Filmmaker Alain Corneau Passes

French newspaper La Monde is reporting that director Alain Corneau has passed away of cancer at the age of 67.

Corneau first began his work in the industry as an assistant director for Costas-Gavras on early 1970s films "The Confession" and "Atlantic Wall." His feature film debut was 1974's "France, Inc.," which kicked off over 35 years of filmmaking that included 1976's "Police Python 357," 1977's "La menace," 1979's "Série noire," 1989's "Nocturne indien," 1991's "Tous les matins du monde," 1998's "Le cousin," 2003's "Fear and Trembling," and 2007's "Le deuxième souffle." The films saw Corneau collaborating with French legends Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu and Monica Bellucci.

Corneau's latest work, "Love Crime," recently opened in France and is set to have its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. It stars Ludivine Sagnier and Kristin Scott Thomas in what TIFF describes as "'Dangerous Liaisons' meets 'Working Girl' in this deliciously caustic tale of office politics."